Study Desk

Therefore the LORD has kept the calamity in store and brought it upon us. For the LORD our God is righteous in all He does; yet we have not obeyed His voice.

While I was speaking, praying, confessing my sin and that of my people Israel, and presenting my petition before the LORD my God concerning His holy hill-

I lifted up my eyes, and behold, there was a certain man dressed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist.

His body was like beryl, his face like the brilliance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude.

I heard the sound of his words, and as I listened, I fell into a deep sleep, with my face to the ground.

Now then, I will tell you the truth: Three more kings will arise in Persia, and then a fourth, who will be far richer than the others. By the power of his wealth, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece.

But as soon as he is established, his kingdom will be broken up and parceled out toward the four winds of heaven. It will not go to his descendants, nor will it have the authority with which he ruled, because his kingdom will be uprooted and given to others.

The king of the South will grow strong, but one of his commanders will grow even stronger and will rule his own kingdom with great authority.

After some years they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the South will go to the king of the North to seal the agreement. But his daughter will not retain her position of power, nor will his strength endure. At that time she will be given up, along with her royal escort and her father and the one who supported her.

But one from her family line will rise up in his place, come against the army of the king of the North, and enter his fortress, fighting and prevailing.

who will invade the realm of the king of the South and then return to his own land.

But his sons will stir up strife and assemble a great army, which will advance forcefully, sweeping through like a flood, and will again carry the battle as far as his fortress.

In a rage, the king of the South will march out to fight the king of the North, who will raise a large army, but it will be given over to the hand of his enemy.

The invader will do as he pleases, and no one will stand against him. He will establish himself in the Beautiful Land, with destruction in his hand.

He will resolve to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and will reach an agreement with the king of the South. He will give him a daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom, but his plan will not succeed or help him.

Then he will turn his face to the coastlands and capture many of them. But a commander will put an end to his reproach and will turn it back upon him.

After this, he will turn back his face to the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall and be no more.

In his place one will arise who will send out a tax collector for the glory of the kingdom; but within a few days he will be destroyed, though not in anger or in battle.

In his place a despicable person will arise; royal honors will not be given to him, but he will come in a time of peace and seize the kingdom by intrigue.

In a time of peace, he will invade the richest provinces and do what his fathers and forefathers never did. He will lavish on his followers plunder, loot, and wealth, and he will plot against the strongholds-but only for a time.